Day 12 » Daily Briefings: AI Disruption Signals: The Heed Report - December 31, 2025

Today’s Briefing

KPMG — Total Workforce Planning Replaces Traditional Headcount Models

KPMG’s May 2025 analysis shows workforce planning is evolving beyond traditional headcount management to “total workforce planning”—integrating AI agents that analyze if/then scenarios and present HR with options and recommendations. The shift: AI agents identify where tasks can be offloaded to automation, help assess whether hiring new talent or upskilling current employees is more cost-effective, and use external data to reveal broader industry trends affecting talent availability and critical skills demand. Workforce planning is becoming a continuous process influenced by many variables, requiring organization-wide buy-in from finance, HR, and business operations. Digital labor is taking on more work while companies focus on evolving tasks and skills rather than just filling positions. Full Report

World Economic Forum — 94% of Leaders Face AI-Critical Skill Shortages

The World Economic Forum’s October 2025 research reveals the AI talent paradox: 94% of leaders face AI-critical skill shortages today, with one in three reporting gaps of 40% or more. While shortages are expected to ease, nearly half of leaders still anticipate gaps of 20-40% in critical roles by 2028. Simultaneously, half of leaders report 10-20% overcapacity in traditional roles due to automation, with 40% expecting 30-39% excess capacity by 2028. This dual challenge—workforce redundancy and AI skills scarcity—redefines workforce planning. Only 46% of organizations currently integrate workforce planning into their AI roadmaps, risking stalled transformations. The solution: reskilling at scale, redesigning roles for human-AI collaboration, and treating workforce planning as a strategic lever for resilience and competitiveness. Full Report

Salesforce — Only 29% of Workers Say Workplace Invests Enough in AI Training

Salesforce’s September 2025 Worker Readiness for AI Economy survey reveals a critical disconnect: while 64% of workers globally support more investment in general skills and 53% specifically want AI-related training, only 29% say their workplace invests enough in AI training currently. Just one in three workers expect their workplace to invest more in AI learning in the next 12 months. Meanwhile, 45% of adults are planning to increase personal spending on AI learning in the next year—taking matters into their own hands because employers are moving too slowly. Nearly half of workers (46%) say AI training should be a shared responsibility across business, government, civil society, and academia. The gap between worker motivation and institutional support for AI readiness is widening. Full Report

Why this matters: Workforce planning faces an AI talent paradox—94% of leaders report AI-critical skill shortages (with one in three facing 40%+ gaps), while 50% report 10-20% overcapacity in traditional roles due to automation. By 2028, 40% expect 30-39% excess capacity in functions like customer support and back-office operations. The disconnect: only 46% of organizations integrate workforce planning into AI roadmaps. Meanwhile, only 29% of workers say their workplace invests enough in AI training, yet 64% want more investment in skills development and 45% are increasing personal spending on AI learning. Companies treating workforce planning as an annual HR exercise will miss this transition. The companies treating it as a strategic lever—with re-skilling programs, role redesign around human-AI collaboration, and scenario planning—will navigate the paradox successfully.

For paid subscribers: Sunday’s analysis covers the shift from traditional headcount planning to total workforce planning, which workforce planning tasks AI handles vs. which require human judgment, the data infrastructure required for predictive workforce analytics, and the skills development plan for building AI-fluent HR teams.